Charge control system for mobile energy storage fleet

Abstract

Vehicle control systems can include one or more location sensors, an energy storage device, one or more charge sensors and one or more vehicle computing devices. The location sensor(s) can determine a current location of a vehicle, while the charge sensor(s) can determine a current state of charge of an energy storage device that can be located onboard the vehicle to provide operating power for one or more vehicle systems. The vehicle computing device(s) can communicate the current location of the vehicle and current state of charge of the energy storage device to a remote computing device, receive from the remote computing device a charging control signal determined, at least in part, from the current location of the vehicle and the current state of charge of the energy storage device, and control charging of the energy storage device in accordance with the charging control signal.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A computer-implemented method for controlling charge of a fleet of vehicles, comprising:
 receiving, by a computing system comprising one or more computing devices, current status indicators from a plurality of vehicles; 
 receiving, by the computing system, one or more electric grid signals indicating current status or power pricing information for an electric grid; 
 receiving, by the computing system, service request data associated with a plurality of vehicle service requests that respectively request operation of a vehicle from the plurality of vehicles for providing a transportation service to one or more end users, wherein the transportation service comprises one or more of a rideshare service, a courier service, or delivery service, and wherein the service request data includes a volume of the vehicle service requests within one or more geographic areas; 
 determining, by the computing system, charging control signals for each of the plurality of vehicles, wherein the charging control signals are determined, at least in part, from the current status indicators of the vehicles, the service request data, and the one or more electric grid signals indicating current status or power pricing information for the electric grid; and 
 providing, by the computing system, the charging control signals to the plurality of vehicles to control charging of energy storage devices at the plurality of vehicles in accordance with the charging control signals. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining, by the computing system, a first plurality of vehicles for operating in a service mode for providing the transportation service; and 
 determining, by the computing system, a second plurality of vehicles for operating in a charging mode, and wherein the charging control signals are provided to the second plurality of vehicles. 
 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more electric grid signals comprises a time-based rate signal providing one or more power pricing rates for consuming energy during different increments of time. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more electric grid signals comprises a demand response signal providing power pricing rates for increased generation or reduced consumption as needed to support local grid demand requirements. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more electric grid signals comprises a frequency signal providing power pricing rates for short term frequency signal adjustment as needed to support local grid frequency requirements. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the charging control signals comprise one or more of authorization instructions to initiate a start of charging for each energy storage device or to request not charging for each energy storage device, location instructions for determining a vehicle charging structure for charging each vehicle, charging mode instructions specifying a positive charging mode for energy consumption from the electric grid or a negative charging mode for energy generation to the electric grid, charging time instructions for determining a charging start time or a charging stop time, rate of charge instructions that specify a current rate of charge for charging each energy storage device, and target state of charge instructions that specify a target state of charge desired for the energy storage device. 
     
     
       7. An autonomous computing system comprising:
 one or more processors; and 
 one or more non-transitory computer-readable media that store instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the autonomous computing system to perform operations, the operations comprising:
 receiving current status indicators from a plurality of vehicles; 
 receiving one or more electric grid signals indicating current status or power pricing information for an electric grid; 
 receiving service request data associated with a plurality of vehicle service requests that request operation of a vehicle from the plurality of vehicles for providing a transportation service to one or more end users, wherein the transportation service comprises one or more of a rideshare service a courier service, or delivery service, and wherein the service request data includes a volume of the plurality of vehicle service requests within one or more geographic areas; 
 determining charging control signals for each of the plurality of vehicles, wherein the charging control signals are determined; at least in part, from the current status indicators of the vehicles, the service request data, and the one or more electric grid signals indicating current status or power pricing information for the electric grid; and 
 providing the charging control signals to the plurality of vehicles to control charging of energy storage devices at the plurality of vehicles in accordance with the charging control signals. 
 
 
     
     
       8. The computing system of  claim 7 , the operations further comprising:
 determining a first plurality of vehicles for operating in a service mode for providing the transportation service; and 
 determining a second plurality of vehicles for operating in a charging mode; and wherein the charging control signals are provided to the second plurality of vehicles. 
 
     
     
       9. The computing system of  claim 7 , wherein the one or more electric grid signals comprises a time-based rate signal providing one or more power pricing rates for consuming energy during different increments of time. 
     
     
       10. The computing system of  claim 7 , wherein the one or more electric grid signals comprises a demand response signal providing power pricing rates for increased generation or reduced consumption as needed to support local grid demand requirements. 
     
     
       11. The computing system of  claim 7 , wherein the one or more electric grid signals comprises a frequency signal providing power pricing rates for short term frequency signal adjustment as needed to support local grid frequency requirements. 
     
     
       12. The computing system of  claim 7 , wherein the charging control signals comprise authorization instructions to initiate a start of charging for each energy storage device or to request not charging for each energy storage device. 
     
     
       13. The computing system of  claim 7 , wherein the charging control signals comprise location instructions for determining a vehicle charging structure for charging each vehicle. 
     
     
       14. The computing system of  claim 7 , wherein the charging control signals comprise charging mode instructions specifying a positive charging mode for energy consumption from the electric grid or a negative charging mode for energy generation the electric grid. 
     
     
       15. The computing system of  claim 7 , wherein the charging control signals comprise charging time instructions for determining one or more of a charging start time and a charging stop time. 
     
     
       16. The computing system of  claim 7 , wherein the charging control signals comprise rate of charge instructions that specify a current rate of charge for charging each energy storage device. 
     
     
       17. The computing system of  claim 7 , wherein the charging control signals comprise target state of charge instructions that specify a to charge desired for the energy storage device. 
     
     
       18. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media that store instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations, the operations comprising:
 receiving current status indicators from a plurality of vehicles; 
 receiving one or more electric grid signals indicating current status or power pricing information for an electric grid; 
 receiving service request data associated with one or more vehicle service requests that respectively request operation of a vehicle from the plurality of vehicles for providing a transportation service to one or more end users, wherein the transportation service comprises one or more of a rideshare service, a courier service, or delivery service, and wherein the service request data includes a volume of the one or more vehicle service requests within one or more geographic areas; 
 determining a first portion of the plurality of vehicles for operating in a service mode for providing the transportation service; 
 determining a second portion of the plurality of vehicles for operating in a charging mode; 
 determining charging control signals for each vehicle in the second portion of the plurality of vehicles, wherein the charging control signals are determined, at least in part, from the current status indicators of the vehicles, the service request data, and the one or more electric grid signals indicating current status or power pricing information for the electric grid; and 
 providing the charging control signals to the second portion of the plurality of vehicles to control charging of energy storage devices at the plurality of vehicles in accordance with the charging control signals. 
 
     
     
       19. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of  claim 18 , wherein the one or more electric grid signals comprise one or more of a time-based rate signal providing one or more power pricing rates for consuming energy during different increments of time, a demand response signal providing power pricing rates for increased generation or reduced consumption as needed to support local grid demand requirements, and a frequency signal providing power pricing rates for short term frequency signal adjustment as needed to support local grid frequency requirements. 
     
     
       20. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of  claim 18 , wherein the charging control signals comprise one or more of authorization instructions to initiate a start of charging for each energy storage device or to request not charging for each energy storage device, location instructions for determining a vehicle charging structure for charging each vehicle, charging mode instructions specifying a positive charging mode for energy consumption from the electric grid or a negative charging mode for energy generation to the electric grid, charging time instructions for determining a charging start time or a charging stop time, rate of charge instructions that specify a current rate of charge for charging each energy storage device, and target state of charge instructions that specify a target state of charge desired for the energy storage device.